WikiLeaks, which in July 2010 released some 70,000 U.S. documents from the war in Afghanistan, would soon publish on its website up to 500,000 leaked classified U.S. documents from the war in Iraq.
The U.S. government in July condemned the release of the leaked documents, which painted a grim picture of the war in Afghanistan that began in 2001.
Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan said the U.S. military is "strictly" urging WikiLeaks to "return the stolen documents to the U.S. Government and ... not to publish them."
Lapan also appealed to the media. "Journalistic organizations should be warned not to facilitate the leaking of classified documents through this organization of dubious reputation known as WikiLeaks," Lapan said.
"The concern is that WikiLeaks as an organization should not gain credibility through credible journalistic organizations that facilitate what they are doing," the official said.
The Pentagon's comments come on the same day Sweden announced it had denied a work and residence permit to Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks posted a response on Twitter, saying, "Instead of apologizing for misleading the press, the Pentagon tries to intimidate it into not reporting."
He also published by the same media a link to an early version of this story. Assange has been establishing a base of operations in Sweden in order to benefit from the Scandinavian country's strict journalism protection laws.
He is also being investigated for rape allegations in that country, a charge he has denied. Assange, who is an Australian citizen, may appeal the Swedish government's decision in the next three weeks.
At the Pentagon, Lapan said he was not suggesting news organizations ignore the leaked documents, but questioned whether WikiLeaks be given "a layer of legitimacy" by publishing the originals.
"WikiLeaks as an organization is irresponsible to take hundreds of thousands, potentially in this case, at least tens of thousands in previous cases, of stolen classified documents and publish them on the web," Lapan explained.
A Pentagon team has already reviewed documents believed WikiLeaks is about to release, Lapan said. The 120-person team is prepared to act quickly once the papers are released to verify if they are the same and assess the damage they could cause, the military added.
Documents released by WikiLeaks in July detailed allegations that U.S. forces sought to cover civilian deaths, as well as U.S. fears that Pakistan secretly aided Taliban fighters despite receiving billions of dollars in U.S. assistance.
Source: Ambito
